Public Honor and Thanks

Slowly, slowly, slowly we are figuring out how to thank all the different groups and individuals that have helped us since our horrific apartment fire. (As a side note, please email me your address, ok?) We are so thankful, overwhelmingly thankful, to so many people. Sometimes I cry because I just can't believe how helpful people have been.

There are a couple of people, however, that I am now going to embarrass mightily. 

In fact, they might not like this at all. I have decided, after lots of thought, that this is necessary and important.

Sometimes, thanking people privately is significant. Sometimes, that feels like enough.

In this particular situation, however, private thanks is not enough. 

People need to know how wonderful my parents are. How much grace, forgiveness, and love they have shown us. How much help and aid they have given us since this tragedy. 

This is not to minimize anyone else's contribution. It is only to say that my heart has been burdened with how much love and thanks I have for the people who brought me into this world.

In the days after the fire my mother called courthouses. My dad ran around to get important documents and shipped them priority mail....several times. They listened to me every. single. time. I called. They did not act annoyed or frustrated. They always asked how we were doing.

They still ask.

They got up in the middle of the night to welcome us back to Iowa with open arms, despite the fact that we were extremely smelly.

They let us live in their house for over three weeks during the most difficult period of our lives. They let us have space. They made us food. They made food for people who came to visit us. They took us out to eat. They helped us through the beginnings of shopping for replacement things when we were so overwhelmed that we wanted to sit on the floor in Target and cry. They hugged me when I needed a hug.

They drove us to Minneapolis with a trailer and paid for our hotel rooms. My dad went to IKEA more than once, dealt with ridiculous parking issues, and pushed loaded carts throughout the store. 

My dad came to our rental house with us and helped me to be okay and know that we could clean it.

My mom wiped down all the walls and woodwork.

My dad helped Kennan put things up, haul things in, and put things together.

They drove to our new house twice with a trailer. My mom took an entire week off of work. 

They came to Cedar Falls the day after I bought a million pounds of tomatoes with a water bath canner and jars. 

My mom gave me a quilt that my grandmother made. They gave me my favorite Willow Tree angel - a girl with her arms spread wide. 

My dad helped Kennan find wood to make a farmhouse table. 

There are many things I have forgotten, of course, but do you see?

Sometimes people love us so much that it hurts. My parents have walked with me through my darkest hour. Because of my parents and because of Kennan, I have survived.

We don't agree on everything. Heck - there's a lot of things that make me crazy about them - and the vice versa is true. I'm sure they often wonder where I came from.

But this weekend, when we were all in their house visiting for my cousin's wedding, all I could think about was how much I love them. How much I am thankful for them.

How glad I am that, despite missing Alaska, we moved closer.

Mom and Dad, I love you. We love you. People need to know that you are really, really wonderful human beings. And now they do.

Thank you so very much. Words will never be able to express how much I appreciate all of the support you have offered, in such a myriad of ways. Thank you for being willing to climb into the pit that was life and help us to slowly redeem it.